5th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion

5th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion
Active	1953–1954
Country	State of Vietnam
Allegiance	French Army
Branch	Vietnamese National Army
Type	Airborne force
Role	Anti-tank warfare Artillery observer Close-quarters combat Counterinsurgency Direct action Forward air control Jungle warfare Long-range penetration Mountain warfare Parachuting Patrolling Raiding Reconnaissance Urban warfare
Size	Battalion
Part of	Groupe d'Opération Nord-Ouest (GONO)
Nickname(s)	5e Bawouan

The 5th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion (Fr: 5e bataillon de parachutistes vietnamiens) was one of the Vietnamese National Army (VNA)'s airborne forces under the command of the Operational Group North-West (GONO), French Far East Expeditionary Corps. They were a paratrooper battalion formed in Hanoi, French Indochina in 1953.

Operational history

The 5th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion (5 BPVN) was one of five battalions of Vietnamese paratroopers raised by the French Army between 1951 and 1954 as part of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny's policy to establish a Vietnamese Army. Its cadre was drawn from 3rd and 23rd Indochinese companies of the 3rd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion (3 BCCP).

The battalion participated in Operation Pike (September - October 1953), Operation Castor (November 1953) and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

Commanding officers

• Capitaine Jacques Bouvery (September 1953 - December 1953)
• Commandant André Botella (December 1953 - May 1954)
• Capitaine Tholy (June 1954 - July 1954)
• Capitaine Lesaux (July 1954)

Sources

• Hell In A Very Small Place - Bernard Fall (1966)

See also

• France portal

• 1st Cambodian Parachute Regiment
• 1st Laotian Parachute Battalion